Handheld multi-functional devices such as smartphones provide countless benefits. Handheld multifunction devices, however, have a number of drawbacks. Increases in functionality and processing power (and decreases in size and weight) all reduce battery life. Meanwhile, devices that are stored in pockets and purses cannot continuously monitor users via sensors or, in most instances, immediately or consistently alert users (e.g., via tactile feedback). Furthermore, handheld multifunction devices are expensive to manufacture and purchase, causing some users to use older models with older functionality or features instead of frequently replacing their device each time a new version is released.
Compared to handheld multifunction devices, devices that are wearable on a user's clothing or body are less cumbersome to carry, easier to interact with, provide fewer opportunities for damage or loss or theft, can continuously monitor users via sensors, and can immediately and consistently alert a user (e.g., via tactile feedback). Meanwhile, wearable devices that provide fewer features can be manufactured at a lower cost than handheld multifunction devices, making it easier for users to purchase a new device or replace an existing device. Finally, wearable devices that provide fewer features may have a longer battery life than handheld multifunction devices, particularly wearable devices that include energy harvesting devices that capture and store energy (e.g., from light, wind, deformation, and/or kinetic energy of the user). Devices that are small enough and/or flexible enough to be implanted on a user's body are even easier to carry and interact with than devices that are wearable on the user's clothing or body. Additionally, implantable devices may be even less prone to damage or loss or theft.
A wearable device (that is wearable or implantable on a user's clothing or body) can be used to automatically and/or continuously monitor the real-time (or near real-time) location of the user. Meanwhile, cloud-based software applications have the potential to access, process, and output a growing array of real-time data and predictive data about conditions at different locations, including information and predictions regarding potentially dangerous conditions (e.g., weather conditions, public safety conditions, and/or environmental conditions). Accordingly, there is a need for a system that outputs an alert to a user in response to a determination that a wearable device is in the location of a geographic area of a potentially dangerous condition.
Additionally, given the ease of use of a wearable device and the ability to continuously monitor the physiological conditions of a user via a physiological sensor, there is a need for a system that pairs a wearable device that includes a physiological sensor with a remotely-stored user profile that includes the contact information of an emergency contact and outputs an alert for transmittal to the emergency contact that includes an indication that the user is potentially experiencing an abnormal physiological condition and the real-time location of the wearable alert device.